Make Your iPhone a Dumb Phone With Screen Time (iOS 27)

Updated 2026-10-24

You don't have to buy anything to try a quieter phone. Screen Time is built into every iPhone: you can set when apps are available, how long you can use them each day, and lock those settings behind a passcode.

These steps come from Apple's official iPhone User Guide pages for iOS 27, checked October 24, 2026. We haven't tested them on a device yet, so if a menu looks different on your iPhone, Apple's linked page is the authority. Apple notes that the newest Screen Time features need iOS 27 or later on all your Apple devices.

1. Turn on Screen Time

1. Open Settings and tap Screen Time.
2. Tap Screen Time Schedule, Time Allowances, or Manage Screen Time, then tap Turn On App & Website Activity.

If you also use an iPad or Mac with the same Apple Account, Manage Screen Time → Share Across Devices applies the same limits on all of them.

Source: Set up Screen Time for yourself, checked 2026-10-24.

2. Set a Screen Time Schedule

A schedule decides which kinds of apps are available at different times of day (for example, weekdays vs weekends).

1. In Settings → Screen Time, tap Screen Time Schedule, then turn on Schedule.
2. Tap Add Schedule and choose the days.
3. Tap a time window to rename it, change its start and stop times, and choose which Time Allowance categories are available during it.

3. Set Time Allowances

Time Allowances cap how long you can use apps each day, overall and by category (Apple's examples: Entertainment, Games, Social Media).

1. In Settings → Screen Time, tap Time Allowances.
2. Drag the slider to set your total daily time, or tap a category to set a limit for just that category.
3. To add a category, tap Manage Categories. To have allowances follow your schedule, turn on Match Screen Time Schedule.

Source: Set Screen Time Schedules and Time Allowances, checked 2026-10-24.

4. Choose what's always allowed

Pick the people and apps that stay available no matter what your schedule or allowances say, such as Phone, Messages, and Maps.

1. In Settings → Screen Time, tap Always Allowed.
2. Tap Add People or Add Apps.

5. Block features and content

1. In Settings → Screen Time, tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
2. Under Content Restrictions, allow or block content in Books, Movies, TV Shows, Music, and more.
3. Tap Other Features to allow or block built-in features such as AirDrop and Camera.

Source: Block features or content with Screen Time, checked 2026-10-24.

6. Make it stick: set a Screen Time passcode

A passcode means you have to enter it before changing the settings above.

1. In Settings → Screen Time, tap Manage Screen Time, then tap Lock Screen Time Settings.
2. Enter a four-digit passcode, then enter it again.

Apple also offers Screen Time Passcode Recovery, which lets you reset a forgotten passcode with your Apple Account.

Source: Create, change, or remove a Screen Time passcode, checked 2026-10-24.

Who this isn't for

If you want a phone that physically can't run a browser or social apps, Screen Time won't get you there: you (or whoever has the passcode) can always change it. See the phone table or take the quiz to compare dedicated phones. On Android? See the Android Digital Wellbeing guide.